Ten fun facts about Lise Meitner
Fact 1
Though the Nobel committee is often criticized for overlooking her, she was a part of the discovery of nuclear fission, which her colleague received the Nobel Prize for.
Fact 2
She has a chemical element named after her, a radioactive synthetic element, called the meitnerium.
Fact 3
In 1964 she suffered a heart attack, causing her condition to weaken and making her unable to travel to the U.S. to receive the Enrico Fermi Prize.
Fact 4
She served as a nurse in World War 1, handling x-ray equipment, but left in 1916 to continue her research.
Fact 5
Since she was protected by her Austrian citizenship, she did not have to leave her position of director of the Institute for Chemistry when Hitler came to power in 1933.
Fact 6
She attended the University of Vienna and was the second woman to receive a doctoral degree in physics in 1905.
Fact 7
Albert Einstein called her the "German Marie Curie" after she was involved in the discovery of nuclear fission.
Fact 8
Meitner was also the first woman in Germany to assume a full professorship in physics at the University of Berlin in 1926.
Fact 9
She was awarded "Woman of the Year" in 1946 by the National Press Club and also joined President Truman for dinner.
Fact 10
In 1945 she became a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, but had her status changed as she became a Swedish citizen in 1949.
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